Gareth Southgate was delighted with his players’ commitment, togetherness and mentality over the last week as England continue to build towards their goal of winning Euro 2024.
Having reached the final of the last edition and impressed in December’s World Cup quarter-final exit to France, the focus is on finally getting their hands on silverware in Germany next summer.
Winning their first four Group C matches means it has long been a case of when rather than if England seal their place at the finals, but Saturday’s drab 1-1 qualification draw against Ukraine brought criticism.
Southgate’s side bounced back with a slick 3-1 friendly win over old foes Scotland at Hampden Park on Tuesday, bringing a successful camp came to a victorious end.
“We’re building all the time,” the England manager said. “We want to keep improving, we keep pushing the players.
“We’ve been able to experiment a bit this week as well. Two new centre-backs (Marc Guehi and Lewis Dunk) have come in, relatively inexperienced, and both done really well.
“But some of our senior players are so influential – (Kyle) Walker and (Kieran) Trippier were absolutely outstanding (against Scotland).
“The impact of our senior players on this group just can’t be underestimated.
“Of course, a lot of the headlines will go to some of our younger players and understandably so, but the way that the group form and the way they are as a team is key to getting the types of performance we have (last night).”
Southgate’s team are among the favourites to win next summer’s Euros and former international Joe Cole called this side the best England team he has seen his lifetime.
“Everybody else can assess that,” the manager said when that was put to him after their impressive Hampden Park triumph.
“I think we want to keep pushing the players.
“I was really pleased with the week. If you’d said to me before the game, ‘How’s the week been?’ I’d have said, ‘Excellent’.
“The players have been fully committed, encouraged each other, trained really well, responded well to a disappointing performance but a really important and good result in Ukraine.
“We wanted the sort of mentality that we showed, and they produced that. They were absolutely excellent (at Hampden).”
It was an impressive team effort with Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham at its heart in Mount Florida.
The 20-year-old played a role in Phil Foden’s opener and three minutes later fired home his second international goal.
Bellingham did not stop there as he capped a man-of-the-match display with a fine assist for Harry Kane after Harry Maguire’s own goal temporarily gave Hampden hope.
“Well, he was excellent,” Southgate said of the young midfielder. “We thought that position might cause a problem.
“I mean, we knew we needed athleticism there to press Scotland because their midfield players can dictate games if you allow them, so that was that was key.
“But we knew the way we played the system might create a bit of an overload and his powerful running forwards with Marcus (Rashford) as well, in particular when Harry was dropping low and Phil was dropping low, that gave us a real outlet.
“So, it was a nice balance to the team with Kalvin (Phillips) and Dec (Rice) doing a brilliant job of mopping up, destroying things and keeping the ball ticking over well.”
Players now return to club matters before convening next month for a Wembley friendly against Australia and qualifier under the arch against Euro 2020 winners Italy.
The Group C leaders’ advantage at the top could be cut to three points by the time they host the Azzurri, but bookmakers’ odds of 1-250 on England to qualify for Euro 2024 highlights their position of strength.
Scotland are also on the cusp of qualification having won their first five qualifiers.
Steve Clarke’s men would have even qualified on Tuesday had Norway and Georgia drawn, but instead the wait continues as they head to second-placed Spain next month looking respond to a deflating loss to the Auld Enemy.
Put to Southgate that there appears to be a big gap between England and Scotland, he said: “No, I just think, look, we played exceptionally well.
“We were able to nullify a lot of the threats that Scotland pose, so it was a really good performance from us.
“I think Scottish fans should be really proud of how their team are going and the job Steve’s doing.
“I’m sure there’ll be a huge reaction to the result, but we’ve just said that for three days and I’m sure Steve’s sensible enough to keep calm about that.
“We played well, we’ve won the game, but on another night that can look very different.”
T&T Women defeat Curacao 3-1 to move to two wins from two in Caribbean Queen’s Friendly Tournament
Trinidad & Tobago’s National Women’s Football Team defeated hosts Curacao 3-1 to remain unbeaten in the Caribbean Queen's Friendly Tournament which continued at the Stadion Rignaal ‘Jean’ Francisca, Willemstad on Thursday.
The Trinidadians were given a positive start through goals from senior team debutants Sonia Lamarre and Cherina Steele in the ninth and 14th minutes, respectively, before Curacao pulled one back in the 45th off a corner kick to cut the lead in half heading into the break.
Lille full-back Kedie Johnson restored the visitors' two-goal lead twenty minutes into the second half.
“Very happy with the result, not so much the football,” said T&T Head coach Richard Hood said after Thursday’s win.
Important to note, this game came just a day after they secured a 2-1 win over Aruba at the same venue.
“I thought it was really important that we pulled off a victory tonight given the physical conditioning of the girls. We saw tonight all our senior players struggled, having played 90 minutes last evening (Wednesday night) as well and again on turf which adds to the difficulty,” Hood said.
“The effort from the girls was tremendous and I am really happy with that. They showed a lot of resilience although they were very much dead on their legs. I thought it was really important that we were able to score three quality goals tonight, given our fatigued state,” he added.
Curacao's tactics forced the Trinidadians to play a style they weren't expecting and Hood gave his team credit for adjusting well.
“They forced us to run more than we would have liked and they played a lot of long balls...but all in all, I am really happy with the effort from the girls tonight and I’m happy with their determination to really win,” he said.
Hood expressed satisfaction with what he’s seeing from the next generation after using a number of younger players throughout the first two encounters of the tournament.
“The future is really bright for the youngsters once we do the right things in terms of nurturing them and assisting with their development and getting them involved in more tournaments such as these so all in all, very happy,” he added.
T&T will face Aruba again on Sunday before facing Curacao on Monday.
Dykes ruled out of Euro 2024 for Scotland
Scotland striker Lyndon Dykes has been ruled out of Euro 2024 after picking up an injury in training on Friday.
While preparing for their upcoming friendly against Gibraltar, Dykes left the training pitch on a stretcher with an apparent knee injury.
On Saturday, Scotland confirmed that the 28-year-old will miss the tournament, though the injury has not been specified.
Dykes has scored nine goals for Scotland in 36 appearances, and played in all eight of their Euro 2024 qualifiers, scoring once.
Steve Clarke's side will begin the tournament against hosts Germany in the opening match on June 14.
Atlanta United v Charlotte FC: Five Stripes looking to build on impressive Miami win
Gonzalo Pineda is hoping Atlanta United can use their win over high-flying Inter Miami as a turning point ahead of Charlotte FC's visit on Sunday.
The Five Stripes beat Lionel Messi's Miami 3-1 in midweek, snapping a nine-match winless streak in the MLS in the process.
It means they move closer to the playoff places in the Eastern Conference, and Pineda is confident they can positively build on this result.
"I really want to [use the Miami win as a turning point]," Pineda said.
"I want to find the right words and connection with them individually, collectively, so we can make that big, big victory our turning point in our season and in three or four months, we can look to Miami and say it was the important one.
"That's when we came back to who we are. I hope that happens, but we have to focus on the next one.
"It's massively important [to win at home] because we haven't won there in a while. I think our fans deserve to have some joy on Sunday and I hope we can give them that."
Charlotte's five-match unbeaten run came to an end against New York Red Bulls on Wednesday, with their 3-1 defeat also the first time they have conceded since the start of that run.
Dean Smith is aware of the rivalry between the two clubs' supporters and wants to use it to give his players an added incentive.
"Derbies are really important because bragging rights are everything," said Smith.
"We're a young club still, we'll build up those rivalries, but the players will be aware of it - I'll make them aware of it - because it's important to our supporters."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Atlanta – Saba Lobjanidze
Lobjanidze scored his first career MLS brace in Atlanta's win over Miami on Wednesday. It was the 48th multi-goal game by an Atlanta player in a regular-season league match, more than any other team since they joined the league in 2017.
Charlotte – Ben Bender
Bender scored his first goal of the 2024 season on Wednesday after scoring three times in 2022 and 2023 for Charlotte. The American is the first player to score in all three MLS seasons for Charlotte FC.
MATCH PREDICTION: ATLANTA UNITED WIN
Atlanta ended a nine-match regular-season winless run (D4 L5) with a 3-1 win at Miami on Wednesday. The Five Stripes return home, where they have lost four consecutive league matches after having never previously lost three in a row at home.
Meanwhile, Charlotte saw their five-match unbeaten run come to an end with a 3-1 loss to the Red Bulls on Wednesday. Still, Charlotte's 22 points through 16 games are their most at this stage of a season in club history.
The four all-time meetings between Atlanta and Charlotte have been split with each team winning twice, once at home and once on the road. Both teams won at home in the 2022 season before winning on each other's field in the 2023 season.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Atlanta – 48.2%
Draw – 25.9%
Charlotte – 25.9%
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